Parliament to reconvene for Senate changes to Constitutional Amendment Bill 3

Parliament to reconvene for Senate changes to Constitutional Amendment Bill 3

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Parliament is expected to sit again on Tuesday next week to consider and vote on amendments proposed by the Senate to Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3, after senators flagged provisions that were not addressed when the National Assembly debated the Bill.

The Senate passed the Bill on Wednesday with the required two-thirds majority, with 75 senators voting in favour and four against. The National Assembly passed the same Bill last week, with 260 legislators supporting it and 42 voting against.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said he would engage the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Martin Rushwaya, so that a General Notice is published recalling legislators for the sitting. Parliament had adjourned until July 7.

Minister Ziyambi said the Senate debate was unusually extensive, with 55 senators speaking in support of the Bill and four against. “By and large, this Bill is one of the most debated, I think, in the history of our Parliament,” he said.

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He said a key Senate change relates to the sequence of events around Parliament’s first sitting in circumstances where Parliamentarians elect the President. Minister Ziyambi explained that the current Constitution provides for the President-elect to be sworn in before calling Parliament for its first sitting, but the new approach would require Parliament to sit first in order to elect leadership and ultimately the President.

“But because now we are having the Parliament electing the President, we had an oversight and we did not amend to give provision for the calling of Parliament for its first sitting before the election of the President,” he said.

He added that senators proposed an amendment to provide for the Clerk of Parliament, through a Gazette notice, to call Parliament to its first sitting where Members would elect the Speaker and the President of the Senate, before proceeding to the election of the President.

Minister Ziyambi said once the Senate passes a version that differs from the National Assembly’s, procedure requires the Bill to be transmitted back to the lower House for endorsement or rejection of the changes. If endorsed, the Bill would then be sent to the President for assent.

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